*
November 12 - National Pizza with the Works Day
November 13 - National Indian Pudding Day
November 14 - National Guacamole Day
November 15 - Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day
November 16 - National Fast Food Day
November 17 - National Baklava Day
November 17 - Homemade Bread Day
November 18 - National Vichyssoise Day
***Ping to the Weekly Cooking Thread***
(to be added/deleted - please post here or PM me)
~~~I’ll be loading the listing from last week later on....as some know - my computer blew up last week during the arborgeddon - I’m loading office 2010 in my new computer now - it’s taking awhile to load :>)
Riverbend Shrimp and Pasta
Made this the other night...had not had it for awhle and had forgotten how good it was (not a fat free dinner).
20-25 Count peeled and de-veined shrimp (about 6 - 8 per person)
Your favorite pasta (we like linguine)
1/2 tablespoon frozen fresh basil
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic.
1 tablespoon frozen fresh lemon grass.
1 table spoon frozen fresh ginger root.
3 tablespoons creole seasoning (we like Emeril’s)
1/2 pound unsalted butter.
Get the water boiling for the pasta (don’t forget to salt the water). When the pasta is nearly done, melt the butter in a large pan. When the butter is melted, add all the spices - except for the creole seasoning and then all the shrimp. Sprinkle with the creole seasoning and cook the shrimp until it just turns pink.
Spoon the shrimp and sauce mixture over the pasta and enjoy!
Hint: the frozen spices can be bought in small, frozen tubes at the store. You keep them in the freezer and always have great spices.
Something to add to your Thanksgiving table
I HATE carrots, won’t touch them with a ten foot asparagus, but I LOVE this recipe as does every one I make it for. It’s my most asked for recipe.
COPPER CARROTS
2 lb Carrots cut into ½ inch slices
1 green pepper cut into long slices
1 red onion cut into rings
1 small can Tomato Soup
1 cup Salad Oil
1 cup Sugar
1/3 cup white Vinegar
1 Tsp Dry Mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Boil carrots until tender, drain and cool. Then combine in a casserole dish with the green pepper and the onion slices.
Heat soup, oil, sugar, vinegar, and dry mustard until hot and sugar is completely dissolved. Make sure you stir while it cooks to mix ingredients.. Then, Poor this mixture over the carrots. Mix and then cover and refrigerate overnight*. *Best made a day or two ahead.
Serve - Can be served warmed-up or left cool, your choice.
Sweet Potato Cheesecake
with Praline Sauce and Whipped Cream
Besides being a music venue, the House of Blues also has a pretty darn good restaurant within. I’ve only eaten at the ones in New Orleans and Los Angeles, but I’ve never had a bad meal there. They specialize in Southern, Cajun and Creole cooking, and they do quite a good job (and lemme tella ya, they got a lot o’ competition in New Orleans).
Gumbo Pages contributor Greg Beron sent in this recipe, which is similar to an excellent dessert once served at the House of Blues. Unfortunately, it’s no longer on the menu ... but you can put it on the menu at home. The ground toasted pecans in the ginger-snap crust are a perfect touch.
If you want to be really extravagant and decadent (and this is dessert, so that’s exactly how you want to be), substitute Mascarpone cheese, a wonderfully sweet and rich Italian cream-style cheese, for good ol’ Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
For the crust:
1-1/2 cups finely ground ginger cookie crumbs
3/4 cup toasted pecans, ground
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese or Mascarpone cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup puréed sweet potato (or yam; the orange kind, not the yellow kind)
5 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
For the praline sauce:
8 ounces unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground pecans and cookie crumbs; add the melted butter and mix well. To form the crust, press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
In a mixer, beat the cream or Mascarpone cheese until smooth, then add the sugars and spices and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, approximately 3-4 minutes. Add the sweet potato purée and mix until just blended. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each egg. Stir in heavy cream at low speed until completely blended.
Pour the filling into into the pan. Put the pan into a 1 to 1/2 inch bain marie, or warm water bath (it’s a good idea to wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan to prevent water from leaking in.) Cook the cheesecake in the bain marie for 50 minutes at 350°F.
Cool the cheesecake at room temperature for 45 minutes. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
While the cheesecake is cooling, make the praline sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the brown sugar, cream and pecans. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Keep warm.
To serve, place each serving a slice of pie onto a dessert plate, then spoon a pool of warm praline sauce over and around each serving. Top with a dollop of fresh whipped cream, and garnish with a sprig of mint.
Questions for bread making folks.
To make bread less dense, use less flour, right?
Also, what’s the optimum temperature to make bread to ensure maximum yeast growth? I found a recipe for burger buns that reads, “Slightly warm milk.” I don’t have a setting on my thermometer for, “Slightly Warm.”
Thanks in advance.
I came up with this recipe last week as a way to use up some leftovers and some fresh vegetables I had in the refrigerator. The family loved it and it was really simple to make.
Sausage, Rice, and Squash Bake
3/4-1/2 lb of Italian Sausage
olive oil or cooking oil (if needed)
1 onion, diced
1 can mushrooms or the fresh equivalent sliced
2-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated (to taste)
2-3 cups cooked rice
1 zucchini, cut in bite size chunks
1 yellow squash, cut in bite size chunks
2 cups grated cheese (anything you have on hand would do, I used a combination of mozzarella and cheddar)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan for topping
Chopped Parsley for topping
Brown Italian sausage and remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Saute onions garlic and mushrooms in the same pan using the grease from the sausage (add additional oil if needed). Set aside.
Add the cream to the beaten egg and mix thoroughly. In a large bowl (if you wish to do this separately) or directly in a greased casserole dish, combine the sausage, onion mixture, 1/2 the cheese, the egg mixture, and seasonings.
Spread the mixture in a large casserole dish and top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the top with a little grated parmesan cheese and parsley. (You could also easily top this with some breadcrumbs as well if you like.)
Cover and bake the casserole at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until heated through completely. Remove the lid and cook an additional 15 minutes until the top is slightly browned. Enjoy!
Note: This casserole is very versatile. It is more a method rather than a hard and true recipe. It could easily be made with pasta instead of rice, any combination of meat or vegetables you might have around or need to use up, and you could easily substitute condensed milk, milk, or even a can of creamed soup instead of the cream. Seasonings could easily be substituted as well for a different seasoning blend.
I experiment a lot with casseroles like this to use up leftovers and fresh veggies I need to use up. Sometimes I use rice and sometimes I use pasta for them. Small pene pasta, bow tie pasta or even some kind of spiral pasta would be great in this dish.
An example of another combination that I think would be equally good would to combine the rice with leftover chicken or beef fajita filling (onions, peppers, and meat or poultry), with taco or fajita seasoning, and cheddar cheese with perhaps even some cheddar cheese soup instead of the cream. You could garnish the top with sliced black olives and serve salsa, guacamole and sour cream on the side if you like.
Does anyone have a good apple cake recipe?
Thanks for your continuing thread. Been low-carbing it for several months and have lost 55 lbs. I was looking for a cheese crust pizza recipe and I thank all of you foodies for contributing to the thread.
PUMPKIN PECAN BOURBON-CREAM PIE
This is the three best Thanksgiving pies in one crust. Basically a thick, low-liquid pumpkin filling topped by a pecan filling, baked, and then topped with a bourbon custard.
Pumpkin layer:
Stir together in bowl, then set aside:
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 to 1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
4 Tb sour cream, OR 2 Tb sour cream + 2 Tb cream
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of allspice, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom as you like it
1/4 tsp salt
Pecan filling:
Stir together in second bowl:
1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar
3/4 c. corn syrup
2 eggs
1 Tb melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. broken pecans.
You can reduce corn syrup and increase sugar if you like.
Now pour pumpkin filling into unbaked 9” pie shell and smooth out. Then very gently pour in pecan filling, smooth. Don’t mix layers.
Bake at 425 deg F for 15 minutes, then reduce oven to 350 and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until filling is puffy and just set. Cool.
Bourbon cream custard:
1/4 c. heavy or whipping cream
3 Tb sugar
3 egg yolks, beaten
Heat cream and sugar in double boiler or microwave, then add slowly to egg yolks whisking constantly. Cook in double boiler or microwave until thick, stirring frequently. Chill. This can be made ahead of time. If you beat the egg yolk custard in a double boiler for about 10 minutes in the French manner, it ought to get extra thick - worth trying, anyway.
1 cup cream, whipped
1 to 2 Tb bourbon
Fold whipped cream and bourbon into custard, spread on cooled pie and serve.
If you dissolve 1 Tb gelatin in 2 Tb hot water and stir it into the custard, then you can stabilize the custard-whipped cream mixture and make it ahead of time. AND you can use more bourbon up to 1/4 cup. The gelatin makes the recipe non-vegetarian. Sometime I’ll try pectin or carageenan or xanthan gum.
BACON-WRAPPED DATES
Insanely easy, insanely delicious appetizer. Wrap
‘em up, stick a toothpick in if they want to unwrap, broil, turn, broil the other side.
Stacked enchiladas
I had some leftover chili and beans, so did this
Preheat oven to 350
Soften corn tortillas in corn oil, blot oil from tortillas
Place one tortilla on oven safe plate.
Spoon hot beans (not too much juice on tortilla.)
I used leftover borracho beans, but canned beans would also work. I love La Sierra brand.
Place another softened tortilla over beans. Spread this tortilla with, heated cream cheese mooshed up with shredded cheddar jack. You could also use heated Philly cooking creme, Santa Fe Blend flavor, or the Philly garden vegetable cream cheese, sour cream, or whatever soft cheese/dairy product you have handy.
Place third softened tortilla on this layer. Spoon heated chili over the top. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Bake ten minutes until cheese is melted.
Top with shredded lettuce, Pico de Gallo, Chunky Salsa, avocadoes, and serve.
Considering it was leftovers, it looked really pretty on a square plate, with the chili juice puddling around it, and tasted good, too.
I would think that by swapping out the chili for chicken, and salsa verde, it would be equally good.
Also, I used the same small saute pan to heat up the different layers, just wiped it with a paper towel, between heating the various layers, so there was minimal clean up.
Tonight I’m making Black walnut Macarons with a Maple buttercream filling and Pumpkin Macarons with a White Chocolate Ganache. My future daughter-in-law had them when her high school bank went to California several years ago, and she wants them for her and my son’s wedding. So, I’m learning to make them. GEEZ! What a lot of work! This humble old Pa mom never even heard of them before she told me about them! :-)
The resident guru for at least a decade was Carlo Morelli, FReeper carlo3b. He combined with other excellent FReeper chefs to bring a touch of professionalism to me.
Here is his last link to cooking threads:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2061523/posts?q=1&&page=44
A search of responses by Carlo:
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:carlo3b/index?brevity=full;tab=comments
A long list of links back to the original Clinton Cookbook.
I have been reading about the people of Cahokia, a city just east of St Louis of 20,000 people in 1050. It was bigger than London at the time.
Residue in pots indicate a blend of pumpkin, beans and corn.
I took a small pie pumpkin, cut it up put it in the crock pot and added some water. I pureed the well cooked pumpkin, put it back in the crock pot and added a can of black beans, water and all, and a can of sweet corn, water and all and let it cook.
I added some salt and some sugar.
It is pretty good. The pumpkin has achieved the consistency of pudding but it is not as sweet.
Pretty good for a 900 year old recipe